View full sizeBruce Ely/The OregonianCamby called himself "doubtful" tonight against Hawks, but hopes to come back in one of the final two games on the Blazers' six-game trip.

ATLANTA — The Trail Blazers play their fourth game on this six-game, nine-day trip tonight against the red-hot Atlanta Hawks, who have won three in a row and six of their last seven.

Here are a couple notes from today’s shootaround at Philips Arena:

Camby doubtful

Marcus Camby participated in portions of the shootaround and said he “feels a little better” but listed himself as “doubtful” for tonight’s game.

Camby, who sprained his left ankle in the second quarter of the Blazers’ loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Jan. 13, did a little running for the first time since suffering the injury. That went well. But jumping and landing?

“It’s getting better,” Camby said, before adding that he hopes to return at some point on the Blazers’ six-game trip.

Crawford returns to Atlanta in search of shooting stroke

Reserve guard Jamal Crawford is trying everything to shake his season-long shooting slump, watching extra film and hoisting extra shoots during team and individual workouts to light a spark. One thing that might give the 12-year veteran an extra jolt is tonight’s venue.

Crawford played the last two seasons in Atlanta, so, if nothing else, the familiar surroundings of Philips Arena can’t hurt.

“Yeah, it’s somewhere I’m used to, right?” Crawford said. “That can always change things. If it can help big-picture and long-term, that would be good for sure. But I’ve been in the league 12 years and struggles are part of it. It’s how you bounce back from it. I think the best scorers in the league ... have a short memory.”

Crawford is shooting 34.2 percent from the field — the lowest of his career — and he’s been particularly cold on the Blazers’ trip. After making 10 of 17 shots, including 3 of 6 three-pointers in a loss to Orlando at the Rose Garden, Crawford has gone 7-for-31 (22.6 percent) over the last three games.

After scrutinizing himself on film, Crawford — who admitted he’s been thinking too much — determined that he’s been “waiting for the shot to come to me” instead of creating his own scoring opportunities and playing free. This is particularly true, he said, in the first half of games, when he’s made just two field goals on this trip.

So expect Crawford to be aggressive early against the Hawks.

Speaking of the Hawks ... Crawford downplayed the idea that he will bring extra motivation into tonight’s game against his former teammates.

“You try not to think about it that way,” he said. “Because ... you don’t want to put yourself ahead of the team. I think I’m more concerned with getting in the flow here and trying to get some more road wins than anything.”

McMillan to Blazers: “I want us to get back to playing aggressive basketball.”

Remember when the Blazers’ offense was one of the NBA’s early-season surprises, a fast-paced, fun-to-watch asset? Well, it’s disappeared on this trip.

In the last three games, the Blazers have reached triple-figures in scoring just once — in overtime at Houston — and have registered their second-and third-lowest scoring games of the season. The Blazers’ fast-break points are down, they seem to be settling for jump shots far too often and, according to coach Nate McMillan, are averaging roughly 70 offensive possessions a game.

The goal is more like 80 or 85 possessions a game.

“I want these guys to get back to playing,” McMillan said. “Defend and run and get our tempo back. At the beginning of the year we were running more, we were getting more stops. So we want to get back to that basketball, where we are defending, rebounding, pushing the ball, looking to attack quickly. Right now, we’re not getting as many stops and we’re not attacking.”

The Blazers have been sloppy with the ball, committing 48 turnovers over the last three games, and McMillan said he thinks that has caused his players to over think. The Blazers, once the NBA’s second-highest scoring team, are down to No. 8, averaging 97.92 points per game. They are 6-2 when they score 100 or more points.

“I want us to get back to playing aggressive basketball, not thinking too much,” McMillan said. “We’ve got to play loose and be aggressive. We’ve got to push that ball ... get that tempo moving.”